Does Your LinkedIn Profile Summary Sound Like a Lame Author’s Bio At the Back of a Book?

Many LinkedIn professionals simply copy their bios from their website or the back of their book. And believe me you can tell. For example, I recently spoke to Ted Gee about changing his LinkedIn profile. I told him that his summary read like a back flap of a hard cover book. His exact response was, “You nailed it! That is exactly what I did”.

Why Your LinkedIn Profile Should Not Sound Like an Author’s Biography…

Your profile should not sound like an author’s bio because it is and old and over used format. Do you remember anything you have read from a bio? No, that is because there is never anything interesting or memorable in an author’s bio. Your profile needs to entice your audience to want to learn more about you. It needs to have strong and engaging copy. It had to make the individual who is reading it scroll down further and eventually visit your website. But none of this can ever happen if your profile is dull and average.

Here are 5 Secrets to Making Your Profile More Exciting and Enjoyable to Your Readers…

1) Make your profile summary in 1st person not 3rd person. LinkedIn is a virtual networking platform for business professionals who want to do more business. It is the first step in building a relationship with someone. You wouldn’t introduce yourself in the third person if you met someone at a networking event. – would you? Then why would you introduce yourself on your profile in 3rd person when writing in first person gives you a more genuine and personal touch.

2) Speak to your audience’s desires, wants and needs. For example here is part of the introduction we created for the summary for PRLeads Founder Dan Janal:

Imagine being featured on the front page of USA TODAY — and then being able to double your speaking fees immediately just like PR LEADS client Patrick Snow of Creating Your Own Destiny. Imagine the website traffic and sales you can generate if only you can find a way to get more publicity so you can speak to millions for free!

Now, small business owners, solo PR firms, speakers, authors and entrepreneurs can get name-brand publicity tools and publicity coaching they can afford. I’m talking about the same top-tier publicity tools that major corporations use to get mega media placements – but you can get it at a fraction of their cost.

Do you see how Dan’s intro speaks to the needs, wants and desires of a small business owner looking to attract media attention?

3) Reveal mistakes your target audience is making and how you are the solution to their problems. For example, in Skip Weisman’s profile summary we revealed how one of his clients admittedly lost 5 million in ten years before working with him. By showing your audience the types of mistakes they are making (that they don’t even realize they are doing), you will stop prospects dead in their tracks. They will automatically want to see if they are making costly mistakes themselves. The key part of this process is to provide reasons how you can help members of your audience and why they should work with you.

4) Show client results. For example, on Help My Website Sell founder Adam Hommey’s profile we included results like:

* Ross Jeffries (Founder of Speed Seduction) – For every dollar he spends on internet marketing consulting, he earns several dollars back. In fact, with one of his promotions, he made more than $60,000 in less than 24 hours!

* MaryPat Kavanagh – Saved thousands of dollars after Adam reviewed her website and internet marketing systems. He showed her how she’s wasting money on complex solutions that are actually costing her money.

5) Use LinkedIn profile templates. When you use templates like the ones found at http://www.InstantLinkedInMarketingTemplates.com, you get the structure, format and organization you need to create a more audience-focused, exciting profile. Here is just what one user had to say about LinkedIn templates:

Kristina, I wanted to thank you and recommend your products for LinkedIn Profiles. I purchased them and followed your templates and my LinkedIn profile went from completely empty to completely professional. I have had testimonials, been published and still didn’t know how to use those tools to my advantage. Your tools gave me that. Since then I have had more connections, more recommendations, and more conversations with potential customers. Always remembering to use the call to action skills I learned from your templates.

The next time you login to your LinkedIn account read your profile and see if it appeals to you as a reader. If it does not, you definitely have to follow some of the tips you just read to improve upon the copy.

Remember you have to entice the reader to learn more about you and what to work with you or purchase your products. One way to guarantee this is to make sure your profile does not read like an author’s biography.